Remember, New Jersey had already approved civil unions. But the judge explains that civil unions are not seen as equal to marriage by the Feds, so they do not give couples access to some federal benefits like pensions and family leave that married straight couples and gay couples receive.

"This unequal treatment requires that New Jersey extend civil marriage to same-sex couples to satisfy the equal protection guarantees of the New Jersey Constitution as interpreted by the New Jersey Supreme Court... Same-sex couples must be allowed to marry in order to obtain equal protection under the New Jersey Constitution," Jacobson wrote.